While the word “Dansk” is the Danish word meaning “Danish,” the Dansk tableware company is not a Danish company. It was American businessman, Ted Nierenberg, who recruited Jens Quistgaard to create designs for his company. An award winning designer, Quistgaard’s work was displayed at the Copenhagen museum, where Nierenberg first saw it. Seeing the spoon, knife and fork designed by Quistgaard, he knew he had to hire him.

The very first logo was the duck family. Quistgaard drew this by hand in 1954. This design showed a family of product lines with three waves of water representing the three Copenhagen canals. Dansk tableware became the choice to replace china for most of high society and has continued to be until even today.

Dansk completely redefined the term “tableware” by being the first company to introduce the concept of a completely matched dinnerware line. With a slogan of “Life is hard enough- let Dansk make it easy,” this is still one of the most popular choices in tableware. While their past more plain, yet chic designs were always well received, recent Dansk collections boast colorful and floral motifs.

Nirenberg was quite lucky to find Quistgaard and coax him into working with him as he is what made Dansk tableware what it is today. Quistgaard stayed on nearly fifty years as chief designer for Dansk. He designed hundreds of products for them. Many of the top US stores such as Dillard’s, Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Marshal Field’s purchase and sell tableware by Dansk. Products designed and manufactured by Dansk are permanently displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Louvre in Paris, as well as the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C. This shows just how important the designs rendered onto Dansk tableware are to the world of art as well as fine dining.

Dansk is obviously not going out of business anytime soon. As long as there are buyers anxious to own this tableware, there will be continued production. To own Dansk products is to take pride in what appears on your dining table. It also is a contribution to the legacy you will leave your family.